Hotels in Biar

Biar

Biar is a municipality of about 3,600 people in the interior of the province of Alicante, in the Alto Vinalopó comarca, at an altitude of 700 metres. Its municipal area covers 98 km², and half of it is forest with several monumental trees. The town lies in the foothills of the Sierra Mariola, ringed by an amphitheatre of mountains over 1,000 metres high, among them Reconco at 1,206 metres. The present town took shape in the Andalusi period and passed to the Kingdom of Valencia under the Treaty of Almizra, playing a frontier role against Castile. Its name most likely comes from the Arabic for wells, a place with plenty of water, though another version derives it from the Latin for a place of bees. The historic ensemble includes the castle, on the Route of the Castles of Vinalopó, along with hermitages and the medieval old town. The late Gothic Church of the Asunción dates from the 15th century, with a doorway of 1519 and a Baroque bell tower of the 18th century. Biar is the largest producer of olive oil in the province, and olive groves still dominate its farmland. The economy also rests on textiles and plastics, while local authorities promote inland tourism through hostels, rural houses and restaurants. It suits walkers and visitors looking for history, mountain scenery and quiet away from the coast.